Notification and troubleshooting of interruptions, failures, and updates

ABSTRACT

Aspects of notification and troubleshooting of interruptions, failures, and updates are described. In one embodiment, a customer premises equipment (CPE) device determines a status of the CPE device, which may include a status of connectivity with a service provider. When the status indicates an error, a type of the error may be identified and a message selected for audible playback by the CPE device. The CPE device may further ring a telephonic device, to alert a user and playback the message to the user. The message may indicate that a connectivity error exists and, in some cases, assist the user to troubleshoot the error. In other aspects, the CPE device may receive an update from the service provider and ring the telephonic device, to advise the user of upgraded functions or features, for example, or provide a promotional message.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/876,920, filed Sep. 12, 2013, the entire contents of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

For some services, such as television, telephone, internet, homemonitoring, etc., certain equipment is installed at a customer'spremises. The equipment may include a computing device, such as a cableor satellite set-top box, a digital video recorder, a digital subscriberline (“DSL”), cable, or fiber optic cable modem, a router, a broadbandgateway, a wireless network access point, a voice over internet protocol(“VoIP”) client, or a combination thereof, for example, among otherdevices. Depending upon the circumstances, the equipment may beinstalled at the customer's premises, such as a home or office, by thecustomer or by a service technician of the service provider.

Over time, the customer may experience difficulties with the equipment.For example, the service or function provided by the equipment may onlywork intermittently over time, based on a variable communications orconnectivity status between the equipment and the service provider, forexample. In this case, the customer may need to contact the serviceprovider for assistance with troubleshooting the problem.

In some cases, the equipment may identify a connectivity problem, andindicate the problem to the customer via one or more indicators, such asa flashing or blinking light. Such an indicator, while providing somelimited feedback to the customer, is generally not adequate to assistthe customer with troubleshooting the problem. Further, a flashing orblinking indicator might go unnoticed by the customer for some period oftime. With regard to correcting the problem, an inconspicuous indicatormay not be suitable to quickly identify and address the problem, whichmay possibly lead to the customer's frustration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the embodiments and the advantagesthereof, reference is now made to the following description, inconjunction with the accompanying figures briefly described as follows:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for notification and troubleshooting ofinterruptions, failures, and updates according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2A illustrates a flow diagram for a process of notification andtroubleshooting of interruptions, failures, and updates performed by thesystem of FIG. 1 according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2B further illustrates the flow diagram for the process ofnotification and troubleshooting performed by the system of FIG. 1according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 2C further illustrates the flow diagram for the process ofnotification and troubleshooting performed by the system of FIG. 1according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example schematic block diagram of a computingenvironment which may be employed in the system of FIG. 1 according tovarious embodiments.

The drawings illustrate only example embodiments and are therefore notto be considered limiting of the scope described herein, as otherequally effective embodiments are within the scope and spirit of thisdisclosure. The elements and features shown in the drawings are notnecessarily drawn to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the embodiments. Additionally, certaindimensions or positions of elements and features may be exaggerated tohelp visually convey certain principles. In the drawings, similarreference numerals between figures designate like or corresponding, butnot necessarily the same, elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following paragraphs, the embodiments are described in furtherdetail by way of example with reference to the attached drawings. In thedescription, well known components, methods, and/or processingtechniques are omitted or briefly described so as not to obscure theembodiments.

For some services, such as television, telephone, internet, homemonitoring, etc., one or more customer premises equipment (“CPE”)devices may be installed at a customer's premises. The CPE device ordevices may include a computing device, such as a cable or satelliteset-top box, a digital video recorder, a DSL, cable, or fiber opticcable modem, a router, a broadband gateway, a wireless network accesspoint, a VoIP client, or a combination thereof, for example, among otherdevices. Depending upon the circumstances, the equipment may beinstalled at the customer's premises, such as a home or office, by thecustomer or by a service technician of the service provider.

Over time, the customer may experience difficulties with a CPE device.In other words, the ability of the CPE device to perform its service orfunction may vary over time, based on the communications or connectivitystatus, for example, between the CPE device and the service provider.For example, due to network problems between the service provider andthe CPE device, the CPE device may fail to provide network data accessor fail to receive, decode, and/or display one or more televisionchannels. Similarly, the CPE device may fail to provide VoIP telephonyservices, if a connection to the service provider is interrupted. Inaddition to network status connectivity problems, the CPE device mayexperience one or more hardware-related failures, such as a failure ofone or more memories, processors, power supplies, physical layer (“PHY”)interfaces, etc.

In the case of a network connectivity, hardware, or other failure orerror, the customer may need to contact the service provider forassistance with troubleshooting the problem. Sometimes, if the problemis a network related problem, for example, a service representative ofthe service provider may not be able to assist the customer. Instead,the representative may only be able to advise the customer that theproblem has been identified by the service provider and that servicetechnicians are attending to the problem. If the network related problemimpacts a significant number of customers, a call center of the serviceprovider may expect to receive a relatively large number of calls,overloading service representatives of the service provider, leading toincreased wait times, and resulting in customer frustration due todelay. Further, a customer's frustration may only be increased if, afterwaiting for a significant period of time to speak to a servicerepresentative, the representative only suggests that the customer waitfor service technicians to address the problem.

In some cases, a CPE device may identify a connectivity problem, andindicate the problem to a customer via one or more indicators, such as aflashing or blinking light. Such an indicator, while providing somelimited feedback to the customer, is generally not adequate to assistthe customer with troubleshooting the problem. Further, for CPE devicesthat are able to diagnose various networking connectivity,hardware-related, and other error conditions, a limited number ofindicators may not be sufficient to identify and distinguish among thevarious types of errors which may be diagnosed.

In the context outlined above, aspects of notification andtroubleshooting of interruptions, failures, and updates are described.In one embodiment, a customer premises equipment (CPE) device determinesa status of the CPE device, which may include a status of connectivitywith a service provider. When the status indicates an error inconnectivity, a type of the error may be identified and a messageselected for playback by the CPE device for audible playback. Further,the CPE device may cause a telephonic device to ring, to alert a userand playback the message to the user. According to various aspects, themessage may indicate to the user that a connectivity error exists and,in some cases, assist the user to troubleshoot the error. In otheraspects, the CPE device may receive an update from the service providerand cause the telephonic device to ring, to advise the user of upgradedfunctions or features, for example, or provide a promotional message.

Turning now to the drawings, a description of exemplary embodiments of asystem and its components are provided, followed by a discussion of theoperation of the same.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 for notification and troubleshooting ofinterruptions, failures, and updates according to an example embodiment.The system 10 includes a CPE device 100, a network 160, and a serviceprovider 170. The CPE device 100 includes a control processing circuit110, a memory 120, a voice port 140, a display port 142, and acommunications front end port 144. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the voiceport 140 of the CPE device 100 is electrically and communicativelycoupled to a telephonic device 150, and the display port 142 of the CPEdevice 100 is electrically and communicatively coupled to a displaydevice 152. Further, the communications front end port 144 of the CPEdevice 100 is electrically and communicatively coupled to the network160 via the communications channel 162. Among embodiments and ingeneral, the network 160 may be embodied as a local or wide areaenterprise-level network and incorporate, at least in part, portions ofor connections to the Internet and/or other networks such as plain oldtelephone service (“POTS”) networks.

At the outset, it is noted that the elements of the CPE device 100 inFIG. 1 are provided by way of example only. In additional embodiments,the CPE device 100 may include other elements or omit one or more of theelements illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the CPE device 100 mayadditionally include an 802.11-based (i.e., “WiFi”) communicationssubsystem, and the CPE device 100 may operate as a wireless accesspoint. Additionally or alternatively, the CPE device 100 may includeother subsystems, such as sensor, alarm, network switch, network router,or firewall subsystems, for example, among others. As generallydescribed herein, the CPE device 100 may diagnose the status of anysystem, subsystem, or element in the CPE device 100, among embodiments,and the aspects of notification and troubleshooting described herein maybe relied upon in connection with any of the system or subsystemelements of the CPE device 100, without limitation.

The control processing circuit 110 includes, among other elements, oneor more processing circuits configured to coordinate operations of theCPE device 100. As such, the control processing circuit 110 may beembodied as an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), ageneral purpose processing circuit configured by the execution ofcomputer-readable instructions, other specific- or general-purposecircuitry and/or logic elements, or any combination thereof, forexample. The control processing circuit 110 may be additionally oralternatively embodied according to one or more elements of thecomputing environment described below with reference to FIG. 4.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the control processingcircuit 110 includes VoIP, display, and communications controllers 112,114, and 116, respectively, which operate in connection with the voiceport 140, the display port 142, and the communications front end port144. The VoIP controller 112 may interface with the voice port 140 toprovide VoIP services. That is, the VoIP controller 112 may connecttelephone calls using internet protocols and data packets, according toany known VoIP techniques and/or protocols suitable for the application.It should be appreciated that, using VoIP services, telephone callsoriginating from POTS networks and data protocol networks may bereceived by the CPE device 100, in the form of data packets, via thecommunications channel 162. When receiving a call, the VoIP controller112 causes the telephony device 150 to ring, to alert a user of aninbound call. The CPE device 100 is similarly able to place outboundcalls.

According to certain aspects of the CPE device 100 described below, theVoIP controller 112 and/or the voice port 140 include, among othercircuit elements, digital-to-analog (“DAC”) and analog-to-digital(“ADC”) converter elements, as understood in the art, for convertingdata samples into analog signals and analog signals into data samples.In this manner, a user of the CPE device 100 can conduct telephonecalls, routed via the network 160, with other individuals using thetelephonic device 150. In addition to relying on the telephonic device150 to place standard telephone calls, the CPE device 100 is alsoconfigured to playback various messages over the telephonic device. Themessages may be played back from the memory 120 of the CPE device 100.Alternatively or additionally, before being played back, the messagesmay be received by the CPE device 100 from the service provider 170 viathe communications channel 162. In this manner, a user of the CPE device100 may be advised of the status, status conditions, updates, and otherinformation associated with the CPE device 100, as further discussedbelow. In this sense, the playback of a message does not rely upon thereceipt of an inbound call, as in the case of the receipt of a standardtelephone call. Instead, the CPE device 100 is configured to cause thetelephonic device 150 to ring in certain circumstances, to provideinformation to a user of the CPE device 100, depending upon the statusof the CPE device 100, as described herein. Further aspects of theoperation of the VoIP controller 112 and the playback of messages to auser of the CPE device 100 are described below.

The display controller 114 may transmit signals for display on thedisplay device 152. The signals may include both video and audiocomponents, for example, for display and/or reproduction by the displaydevice 152. According to certain aspects of the embodiments describedherein, if a user of the CPE device 100 does not answer a call placed tothe telephonic device 150 within a certain predetermined period of time,the display controller 114 may overlay a voice message indicator over adisplay output of the CPE device 100. Further aspects of the operationof the display controller 114 are described below.

The communications controller 116 is configured to coordinate,supervise, and diagnose the operations of the communications front endport 144 and/or the communications channel 162. In this regard, thecommunications controller 116 may perform a diagnostic analysis. In someembodiments, the diagnostic analysis may include a spectrum analysis onthe communications channel 162 between the CPE device 100 and thenetwork 160 and/or the service provider 170. Further aspects of theoperation of the communications controller 116 are described below.

The voice port 140, the display port 142, and the communications frontend port 144 each includes a physical layer (“PHY”) connection of theCPE device 100. In particular, the voice port 140 includes a physicallayer connection for coupling the CPE device 100 to the telephonicdevice 150, the display port 142 includes a physical layer connectionfor coupling the CPE device 100 to the display device 152, and thecommunications front end port 144 includes a physical layer connectionfor coupling the CPE device 100 to the communications channel 162. Inone embodiment, the voice port 140 may include a telephone jack (e.g.,RJ11 modular connector), among other physical structural elements, forcoupling the CPE device 100 to the telephonic device 150. Further, thedisplay port 142 may include a high definition multimedia interface(“HDMI”) port, for example, among other physical structural elements,for coupling the CPE device 100 to the display device 152, althoughother video and/or audio connectors are within the scope and spirit ofthe embodiments described herein. The communications front end port 144may include a coaxial cable jack, Ethernet jack (e.g., RJ45 modularconnector), or optical cable interconnect jack, for example, among othertypes of connectors, for coupling the CPE device 100 to thecommunications channel 162, depending upon the medium of thecommunications channel 162. It is noted that the CPE device 100 mayinclude additional physical layer ports or jacks, among embodiments,such as universal serial bus (“USB”), infra-red (“IR”), digitalinterconnect format (“DIF”), or other ports or jacks.

Each of the physical layer ports 140, 142, and 144 may include one ormore optical and/or electrical receivers, transmitters, amplifiers,mixers, duplexers, and filter circuits, for example, to support digitaland/or analog communications using one or more suitable communicationsstandards or protocols. Further, in certain aspects and embodiments,processing circuits of the physical layer ports 140, 142, and 144 mayexecute computer-readable application and/or driver instructions storedin memory. The instructions may be executed, for example, to supportcertain operations or functions of the physical layer ports 140, 142,and 144. In other embodiments, the operations or functions of thephysical layer ports 140, 142, and 144 may be embodied in one or moreembedded, specific-purpose, and/or ASIC circuits, or combinationsthereof. In this context, it should be appreciated that each of thephysical layer ports 140, 142, and 144 may operate among variousabstraction layers in the Open Systems Interconnection (“OSI”) model,for example.

The telephonic and display devices 150 and 152 in FIG. 1 arerepresentative and provided by way of example only, and it should beappreciated that other devices may be coupled to the CPE device 100 inthe system 10. Generally, the telephonic device 150 may be embodied asany suitable and well known telephone, such as a wired or wirelesstelephone, with one or more handsets. Using the telephonic device 150, auser of the CPE device 100 can be advised of one or more operatingstatus conditions of the CPE device 100, as described herein. Thedisplay device 152 may be embodied as any suitable display device, suchas a television or computer monitor, with or without speakers for audioplayback.

The memory 120 includes, at least, a computer-readable instructionmemory area 122 and a message storage memory area 124. Thecomputer-readable instruction memory area 122, generally, storesinstructions for execution by the control processing circuit 110 andother elements of the CPE device 100. The message storage memory area124 stores one or more messages for playback to a user of the CPE device100 over the telephonic device 150, based on various circumstancesdescribed herein. Among other messages, the messages stored in themessage storage memory area 124 may include installation or connectivitytroubleshooting messages, messages indicating that new features of theCPE device 100 have been enabled or installed, and promotional orinformative messages. The messages may include one or more segments, andthe CPE device 100 may playback one or more segments of the message overthe telephonic device 150, in turn, as responses (e.g., touchtoneresponses) are received from the user. Certain messages may be stored inthe message storage memory area 124 before the CPE device 100 isinstalled, and other messages may be updated and/or stored in themessage storage memory area 124 over time based on data received by theCPE device 100 from the service provider 170 via the communicationschannel 162.

Among other operational aspects described below in connection with FIGS.2A-2C, the CPE device 100 is configured to determine and/or diagnosevarious aspects of its operating status. Additionally or alternatively,the CPE device 100 is configured to determine and/or diagnose a statusof connectivity with the service provider 170 via the communicationschannel 162 and/or the network 160. The determination of the status ofthe CPE device 100 may include a determination as to whether the CPEdevice 100 is being powered on for the first time, whether a telephonicdevice is coupled to the voice port 140 of the CPE device 100, whetherupdates (e.g., software updates) are available for download, whether oneor more errors or failure conditions have been encountered, etc.

The determination of the status of connectivity between the CPE device100 and the service provider 170 may be based on a diagnostic analysis.The diagnostic analysis may be performed by the communicationscontroller 116 and/or the communications front end port 144 on thecommunications channel 162. In this context, the communicationscontroller 116 and/or the communications front end port 144 may performa spectrum analysis, for example, on the communications channel 162. Thespectrum analysis may be performed periodically, from time-to-time, oras directed by a user, for example. Among other aspects of diagnostics,the spectrum analysis may identify a power density of one or morecommunications channels across a frequency band over time.

Based on the diagnostic analysis, the control processing circuit 110 ofthe CPE device 100 may select a message from the message memory 124 foraudible playback over the telephonic device 150. For example, the CPEdevice 100 may select a message which indicates that the channel powerdensity is insufficient to decode and display one or more televisionchannels or that data communications, VoIP telecommunications, or otherfeatures or services are unavailable due to network problems. Thus, whenthe status of connectivity indicates an error or other condition, theCPE device 100 may identify a type of the error and select a message foraudible playback based on the type of the error. Other than connectivityerror messages, the CPE device 100 may also select among messages whichindicate a hardware failure, a software update, or an availablepromotion, for example, as further described below. After selecting themessage, the CPE device 100 may cause the telephonic device 150 to ring,in an attempt to capture the attention of a user of the CPE device 100.While causing the telephonic device 150 to ring, the CPE device 100 maymonitor for an off-hook status of the telephonic device 150, and playthe message over the telephonic device 150 after detecting the off-hookstatus.

In other aspects, one or more of the messages stored in the messagememory area 124 (and/or received from the service provider 170) mayinclude an installation troubleshooting message or a connectivitytroubleshooting message, either of which may include a plurality ofmessage segments. In this context, the CPE device 100 may play a firstsegment of such a message over the telephonic device 150 and wait apredetermined period of time (e.g., 5, 10, 20, 30 seconds) for aresponse from the telephonic device 150 corresponding to the firstsegment. If no response is received, then the CPE device 100 may attemptto ring the telephonic device 150 another time and/or display an overlaya voice message indicator to the display device 152 via the display port142.

On the other hand, if a response corresponding to the first segment isreceived from the telephonic device 150, then the CPE device 100 mayperform a further diagnostic or directed procedure, for example, basedon the response. After the diagnostic or directed procedure, the CPEdevice 100 may select a second segment of the connectivitytroubleshooting message for audible playback based on an outcome of thediagnostic procedure, and play the second segment over the telephonicdevice 150.

According to the features outlined above (and further described below),the CPE device 100 proactively notifies users when various events, suchas connectivity errors, hardware failures, software updates, andpromotional events occur. In contrast to the flashing or blinkingindicators described above, causing the telephonic device 150 to ringmay be more likely to grasp the attention of a user of the CPE device100. Further, several different types of message for playback may bestored in the memory 120. Thus, the CPE device 100 may select amongvarious messages to provide to users, based upon the circumstances. Inpart, the proactive nature of the notifications provided by the CPEdevice 100, according to the embodiments described herein, may avert theneed for users to contact the service provider 170 with questions. Forexample, a message provided by the CPE device 100 may state: “Channels Xand Y are currently unavailable, due to poor signal quality. ServiceProvider has been informed of this condition, and is currentlyaddressing the problem. Thank you for your patience. We will contact youas soon as the issue has been resolved.” It is also noted that, in thisway, the need for service representatives may be reduced.

Before turning to the process flow diagrams of FIGS. 2A-2C, it is notedthat the embodiments described herein may be practiced using analternative order of the steps illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2C. That is, theprocess flows illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2C are provided as examples only,and the embodiments may be practiced using process flows that differfrom those illustrated. Additionally, it is noted that not all steps arerequired in every embodiment. In other words, one or more of the stepsmay be omitted or replaced, without departing from the spirit and scopeof the embodiments. Further, steps may be performed in different orders,in parallel with one another, or omitted entirely, and/or certainadditional steps may be performed without departing from the scope andspirit of the embodiments. Finally, although the process 200 of FIGS.2A-2C is described in connection with the CPE device 100 of FIG. 1, theprocess 200 may be performed by other devices.

FIG. 2A illustrates a flow diagram for a process 200 of notification andtroubleshooting of interruptions, failures, and updates performed by thesystem 10 of FIG. 1 according to an example embodiment. At referencenumeral 202, the process 200 includes determining a status ofconnectivity with a service provider. With reference to the elements ofFIG. 1 as an example for context, at reference numeral 202, the CPEdevice 100 may determine one or more aspects of its status at referencenumeral 202. For example, the CPE device 100 may determine whether it isbeing powered on for the first time, detect whether a telephonic deviceis coupled to the voice port 140, perform a hardware failure or errordiagnostic check, perform a diagnostic of the status of connectivitywith the service provider 170 or other network entities coupled to thenetwork 160, or determine whether updates, such as software updates, areavailable for download and installation. In this sense, thedetermination of the status of the CPE device 100 at reference numeral202 encompasses a broad determination device status consistent with thespirit and scope of the embodiments described herein.

At reference numeral 204, the process 200 includes determining whetheran update is available, based on the status of the device determined atreference numeral 202. For example, a software update may be availablefor the CPE device 100. If it is determined that an update is availableat reference numeral 204, then the process 200 proceeds to referencenumeral 232, as illustrated and described in connection with FIG. 2C. Onthe other hand, if it is determined that an update is not available atreference numeral 204, then the process 200 proceeds to referencenumeral 206, which includes determining whether the status identified atreference numeral 202 indicates an error condition. The error conditionmay indicate one of various hardware errors, failures, or errorconditions, such as a failed power supply, a failed memory device, afailed processing circuit, or an error in connectivity with a serviceprovider, for example, without limitation.

If no error condition is identified at reference numeral 206, theprocess 200 proceeds back to reference numeral 202. On the other hand,if an error condition is identified at reference numeral 206, theprocess 200 proceeds to reference numeral 208, which includesidentifying a type of the error or failure. In this context, the controlprocessing circuit 110 of the CPE device 100 may be configured todistinguish among various types of errors based on the status determinedat reference numeral 202. The control processing circuit 110 may relyupon an error lookup table, for example, to correlate aspects of thestatus determined at reference numeral 202 with one or more identifiederrors or failures.

Continuing to reference numeral 210, the process 200 includes selectinga message for audible playback based on the type of the error or failureidentified at reference numeral 208. Here, the control processingcircuit 110 of the CPE device 100 may select one or more messages amongvarious messages stored in the message memory area 124, each of which isavailable for audible playback, based on the type of error or failureidentified at reference numeral 208.

At reference numeral 212, the process 200 includes causing a telephonicdevice to ring. For example, as described herein, the CPE device 100 maycause the telephonic device 150 coupled to the voice port 140 of the CPEdevice 100 to ring. In certain aspects and embodiments, causing thetelephonic device to ring at reference numeral 212 may further includewaiting or monitoring for an off-hook status of the telephonic devicefor a predetermined period of time. In other words, the CPE device 100may cause the telephonic device 150 to ring, and wait a predeterminedperiod of time for a user of the CPE device 100 pick up a handset of thetelephonic device 150 (i.e., answer the call). If, for example, a userdoes not pick up the handset of the telephonic device 150 within thepredetermined period of time, the CPE device 100 may schedule asecondary call at a different time, for example, or store a message fora user in a voicemail inbox. Additionally or alternatively, the CPEdevice 100 may overlay a message upon a display signal provided to thedisplay 152, indicating that a voice message is awaiting playback forthe user.

After detecting the off-hook status of the telephonic device atreference numeral 212, the process 200 further includes determiningwhether the message selected at reference numeral 210 includes asegmented message at reference numeral 214. In this context, the messageselected at reference numeral 210 may include an installationtroubleshooting message or a connectivity troubleshooting message,either of which may include a plurality of message segments. As furtherdescribed below, a message embodied as a plurality of message segmentsmay be relied upon by the CPE device 100 to provide a series of steps toa user of the CPE device 100, for troubleshooting various errorconditions. Between message segments, the CPE device 100 may wait forthe receipt of a response (e.g., a touchtone response), and directfurther operations based on the response.

If a segmented message is not detected or determined at referencenumeral 214, then the process 200 proceeds to reference numeral 216,which includes playing the message selected at reference numeral 210 toa user over the telephonic device. With reference to the elements ofFIG. 1 as an example, the CPE device 100 may playback one or moremessages stored in the message memory area 124 over the telephonicdevice 150, to advise a user of the CPE device 100 of one or moreaspects of the status determined at reference numeral 202.

On the other hand, if a segmented message is detected or determined atreference numeral 214, then the process 200 proceeds to referencenumeral 218, as illustrated in FIG. 2B. At reference numeral 218, theprocess 200 includes playing a first (or i^(th)) segment of the messageover the telephonic device. At reference numeral 220, the process 200includes waiting for a response from a user. For example, the CPE device100 may wait for a predetermined period of time (e.g., 5, 10, 20, 30seconds) after playing the first segment, to determine whether aresponse is provided by a user. If no response is received within thepredetermined period of time, the CPE device 100 may conduct asubsequent or follow-up call at a later time.

It should be appreciated that, depending upon the first segment of themessage, a user may be provided various options for reply. For example,the first segment of the message may identify a certain error condition,and provide a user with a first option to diagnose the condition or asecond option to place a call to a service representative. One or moreresponses may be provided by a user using a touchtone keypad, forexample. Additionally, one or more segments of the message may requestthe user to confirm certain conditions, such as whether a picture isvisible on the display screen 152, or whether a physical connection of acable is securely provided at the communications front end port 144. Inthis sense, the CPE device 100 may step a user through a flow or seriesof steps to confirm operating parameters of the CPE device 100.

At reference numeral 220, the process 200 further includes receiving aresponse from a user. In turn, at reference numeral 224, the process 200includes performing a diagnostic procedure based on the response fromthe user received at reference numeral 220. For example, if the responsefrom the user requests the CPE device 100 to analyze one or moreoperating parameters of the CPE device 100, the control processingcircuit 110 may perform the analysis. Here, it is noted that, atreference numeral 224, the CPE device 100 may perform any actionconsistent with a response or request received from the user atreference numeral 220. Thus, the embodiments described herein are notlimited to the performance of diagnostic procedures in response tocommands from a user. Instead, various actions may be performed by theCPE device 100 in response to commands or requests from a user,consistent with the identification, troubleshooting, installation, orother functional or operating aspects of the CPE device 100.

Proceeding to reference numeral 226, the process 200 includesdetermining whether an error condition remains. In other words, the CPEdevice 100 may determine at reference numeral 226 whether furthercommunications with and/or feedback from a user is required to addressan outstanding or remaining error condition. If so, then the process 200proceeds to reference numeral 228, which includes selecting a secondsegment of the message for audible playback. The selection of the secondsegment of the message may be based on an outcome of the diagnosticprocedure conducted at reference numeral 224, for example. Here, it isnoted that the selection of the second segment for playback may be basedupon various factors. That is, any message may include certain segmentswhich may be selected based upon a decision tree or other logic, and thedecision tree or logic may be followed depending upon one or morecurrent or previous status conditions.

If it is determined at reference numeral 226 that no error conditionremains, then the process 200 proceeds to reference numeral 230, whichincludes concluding the message over the telephonic device. In thiscase, for example, if all operating status errors of the CPE device 100have been addressed, then the message may conclude with a statement thatthe CPE device 100 is now functioning properly. After the conclusion atreference numeral 230, the process 200 proceeds back to referencenumeral 202 in FIG. 2A, to further monitor the status of the device.

Turning to FIG. 2C, if it is identified at reference numeral 204 of FIG.2A that an update is available, then the process 200 includes receivingor downloading the update at reference numeral 232. For example, atreference numeral 202 in FIG. 2A, the CPE device 100 may determine thata software update is available for download and installation. The updatemay include an update to one or more features of the CPE device 100.Alternatively or additionally, the update may include one or moreupdates to software to address or accommodate hardware or softwareerrors, inconsistencies, or vulnerabilities. Further, the update mayinclude one or more messages for playback, without any updates tosoftware. If it is determined at reference numeral 202 that an update isavailable, then the CPE device 100 will receive or download the updateat reference numeral 232 in FIG. 2C. Further, at reference numeral 234,the process 200 includes installing the update.

Continuing to reference numeral 236, the process 200 includesdetermining whether the update installed at reference numeral 234includes a new diagnostic procedure. If so, the process 200 proceeds toreference 238, which includes performing the new diagnostic procedurebased on the update installed at reference numeral 234. In turn, theprocess 200 proceeds back to reference numeral 202 in FIG. 2A. It isnoted here that, based on any feature or software update installed atreference numeral 234 and the new diagnostic procedure performed atreference numeral 238, the status of the device may be re-determined atreference numeral 202.

If, at reference numeral 236, it is determined that no new diagnosticprocedure was installed at reference numeral 234, then the process 200proceeds to reference numeral 240, where it is determined whether theupdate includes a message for playback. If so, the process 200 proceedsto reference numeral 242, which includes causing the telephonic deviceto ring. Further, at reference numeral 246, the process 200 includesplaying a feature update message over the telephonic device. It is notedthat certain embodiments include causing the telephonic device to ringat reference numeral 242 regardless of whether a diagnostic procedurewas performed or whether a new feature or other update was installed.For example, a new message may be downloaded, stored, and played back,regardless of whether a diagnostic procedure was performed or whether anew feature or other update was installed.

At reference numeral 246, for example, the CPE device 100 may cause thetelephonic device 150 to ring and play a feature update, softwareupdate, or other (e.g., advertisement) message for a user over thetelephonic device 150. The feature update message may indicate to theuser that the CPE device 100 has been updated to include furtherfeatures or enhancements. In other aspects, the feature update messagemay include promotions or advertisements for goods or services, forexample. After reference numeral 246, the process 200 proceeds back toreference numeral 202 in FIG. 2A. If, at reference numeral 240, it isdetermined that the update installed at reference numeral 234 does notinclude a message for playback, the process 200 proceeds back toreference numeral 202 in FIG. 2A.

In the context of the description provided above, the embodimentsdescribed herein may be relied upon for early or advanced notificationand troubleshooting of interruptions, failures, and updates of equipmentand devices. Particularly, messages may be provided to a user of adevice over a telephone, for example, coupled to the device, without theneed to establish a call to a service technician. In other embodiments,messages may be provided to a user according to one or more messagesdisplayed on a display device, or by one or more audio messages playedover speakers of the display device. The messages may be stored locallyon the equipment or device, updated over time, and may be relied upon tospecify certain hardware or connectivity failures or errors to a user.Additionally, the hardware or connectivity failures or errors may beaddressed by a user based on directions provided by a decision tree ofmessage segments which instruct the user to confirm operating aspects ofthe device.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example schematic block diagram of a computingarchitecture 300 that may be employed by one or more elements of thesystem 10 of FIG. 1, according to various embodiments described herein.The computing architecture 300 may be embodied, in part, using one ormore elements of a mixed general and/or special purpose computer. Thecomputing device 300 includes a processor 310, a Random Access Memory(RAM) 320, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 330, a memory device 340, and anInput Output (I/O) interface 350. The elements of computing architecture300 are communicatively coupled via a bus 302. The elements of thecomputing architecture 300 are not intended to be limiting in nature, asthe architecture may omit elements or include additional or alternativeelements.

In various embodiments, the processor 310 may include any generalpurpose arithmetic processor, state machine, or ASIC, for example. Invarious embodiments, the control processing circuit 110 of the CPEdevice 100 of FIG. 1 may be implemented, at least in part, using acomputing architecture including the processor 310. The processor 310may include one or more circuits, one or more microprocessors, ASICs,dedicated hardware, or any combination thereof. In certain aspects andembodiments, the processor 310 is configured to execute one or moresoftware modules. The processor 310 may further include memoryconfigured to store instructions and/or code to perform variousfunctions, as further described herein. In certain embodiments, theprocess 200 described in connection with FIGS. 2A-2C may be implementedor executed by the processor 310.

The RAM and ROM 320 and 330 include any random access and read onlymemory devices that store computer-readable instructions to be executedby the processor 310. The memory device 340 stores computer-readableinstructions thereon that, when executed by the processor 310, directthe processor 310 to execute various aspects of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

As a non-limiting example group, the memory device 340 includes one ormore non-transitory memory devices, such as an optical disc, a magneticdisc, a semiconductor memory (i.e., a semiconductor, floating gate, orsimilar flash based memory), a magnetic tape memory, a removable memory,combinations thereof, or any other known non-transitory memory device ormeans for storing computer-readable instructions. The I/O interface 350includes device input and output interfaces, such as keyboard, pointingdevice, display, communication, and/or other interfaces. The bus 302electrically and communicatively couples the processor 310, the RAM 320,the ROM 330, the memory device 340, and the I/O interface 350, so thatdata and instructions may be communicated among them.

In certain aspects, the processor 310 is configured to retrievecomputer-readable instructions and data stored on the memory device 340,the RAM 320, the ROM 330, and/or other storage means, and copy thecomputer-readable instructions to the RAM 320 or the ROM 330 forexecution, for example. The processor 310 is further configured toexecute the computer-readable instructions to implement various aspectsand features of the embodiments described herein. For example, theprocessor 310 may be adapted or configured to execute the process 200described above in connection with FIGS. 2A-2C. In embodiments where theprocessor 310 includes a state machine or ASIC, the processor 310 mayinclude internal memory and registers for maintenance of data beingprocessed.

The flowchart or process diagram of FIGS. 2A-2C are representative ofcertain processes, functionality, and operations of embodimentsdescribed herein. Each block may represent one or a combination of stepsor executions in a process. Alternatively or additionally, each blockmay represent a module, segment, or portion of code that includesprogram instructions to implement the specified logical function(s). Theprogram instructions may be embodied in the form of source code thatincludes human-readable statements written in a programming language ormachine code that includes numerical instructions recognizable by asuitable execution system such as the processor 310. The machine codemay be converted from the source code, etc. Further, each block mayrepresent, or be connected with, a circuit or a number of interconnectedcircuits to implement a certain logical function or process step.

Although embodiments have been described herein in detail, thedescriptions are by way of example. The features of the embodimentsdescribed herein are representative and, in alternative embodiments,certain features and elements may be added or omitted. Additionally,modifications to aspects of the embodiments described herein may be madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention defined in the following claims, the scope ofwhich are to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompassmodifications and equivalent structures.

1. A notification, comprising: determining, by a processing circuit in acustomer premises equipment (CPE) device, a status of connectivity ofthe CPE device with a service provider; when the status of connectivityindicates an error in connectivity with the service provider,identifying a type of the error and selecting a message for audibleplayback based on the type of the error; causing, by the processingcircuit, a telephonic device coupled to a voice port of the CPE deviceto ring; playing a first segment of the message over the telephonicdevice requesting input from a user relating to one or more conditionsassociated with the error; waiting a predetermined period of time for aresponse from the user corresponding to the first segment; receiving theresponse to the first segment from the user relating to the one or moreconditions associated with the error; and performing one or morediagnostic actions using the response from the user relating to the oneor more conditions.
 2. The notification method according to claim 1,further comprising: while causing the telephonic device to ring,monitoring for an off-hook status of the telephonic device; and afterdetecting the off-hook status, playing the message over the telephonicdevice.
 3. The notification method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: detecting whether the telephonic device is coupled to thevoice port of the CPE device; and when the telephonic device is notcoupled to the voice port of the CPE device, overlaying a voice messageindicator over a display output of the CPE device.
 4. (canceled) 5.(Canceled)
 6. The notification method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: after the diagnostic actions, selecting a second segment ofthe message for audible playback based on an outcome of the diagnosticactions; and playing the second segment of the message over thetelephonic device.
 7. The notification method according to claim 1,wherein: determining the status of connectivity comprises performing adiagnostic analysis on a communications channel between the CPE deviceand the service provider; and selecting the message for audible playbackcomprises selecting the message based on the diagnostic analysis.
 8. Thenotification method according to claim 7, wherein the diagnosticanalysis includes a spectrum analysis which identifies a power densityof communications channels across a frequency band over time.
 9. Thenotification method according to claim 1, further comprising: receivingan update from the service provider, the update including an update toat least one feature of the CPE; and in response to the update, causingthe telephonic device to ring and playing a feature update message overthe telephonic device.
 10. A notification device, comprising: a voiceport to be coupled to a telephonic device; a communications front endport to be coupled to a communications channel; a memory; and a controlprocessing circuit coupled to the memory and configured to: determine astatus of connectivity with a service provider via the communicationschannel; when the status of connectivity indicates an error inconnectivity with the service provider, identify a type of the error andselect a message for audible playback based on the type of the error;cause the telephonic device to ring; play a first segment of the messageover the telephonic device requesting input from a user relating to oneor more conditions associated with the error; wait a predeterminedperiod of time for a response from the user corresponding to the firstsegment; receive the response to the first segment from the userrelating to the one or more conditions associated with the error; andperform one or more diagnostic actions using the response from the userrelating to the one or more conditions.
 11. The notification deviceaccording to claim 10, wherein the control processing circuit is furtherconfigured to: monitor for an off-hook status of the telephonic device;and play the message over the telephonic device after detecting theoff-hook status.
 12. The notification device according to claim 10,wherein the message comprises at least one of an installationtroubleshooting message or a connectivity troubleshooting messageincluding a plurality of message segments.
 13. (canceled)
 14. (canceled)15. The notification device according to claim 10, wherein the controlprocessing circuit is further configured to: after the diagnosticactions, select a second segment of the message for audible playbackbased on an outcome of the diagnostic actions; and play the secondsegment of the message over the telephonic device.
 16. The notificationdevice according to claim 10, wherein the control processing circuit isfurther configured to: perform a diagnostic analysis on thecommunications channel; and select the message for audible playbackbased on the diagnostic analysis.
 17. A notification method, comprising:determining, by a processing circuit in a customer premises equipment(CPE) device, a status of the CPE device; when the status indicates anerror in connectivity with a service provider, identifying a type of theerror and selecting a message for audible playback based on the type ofthe error; causing a telephonic device coupled to a voice port of theCPE device to ring; playing a first segment of the message over thetelephonic device requesting input from a user relating to one or moreconditions associated with the error; waiting a predetermined period oftime for a response from the user corresponding to the first segment;receiving the response to the first segment from the user relating tothe one or more conditions associated with the error; performing one ormore diagnostic actions using the response from the user relating to theone or more conditions; after the diagnostic actions, selecting a secondsegment of the message for audible playback using the outcome of thediagnostic actions; and playing the second segment of the message overthe telephonic device.
 18. The notification method according to claim17, further comprising: receiving an update from the service provider,the update including instructions for a diagnostic procedure and adiagnostic message having a plurality of message segments; and inresponse to the update, performing the diagnostic procedure on the CPEdevice.
 19. The notification method according to claim 18, furthercomprising, after the diagnostic procedure, selecting a segment of thediagnostic message for audible playback based on an outcome of thediagnostic procedure.
 20. The notification method according to claim 17,further comprising: receiving an update from the service provider, theupdate including a promotional message; and in response to the update,causing the telephonic device to ring and playing the promotionalmessage to the telephonic device.